Turtle and Lamprey: Savage Seas - 09/22/21 12:57 PM
This is kind of an experiment for me, usually I just have background characters find an excuse to involve some Legionnaires if I want to tell stories with them but this time around it seemed a bit contrived so I thought I'd try giving Turtle and Lamprey their own little mini-series!
This takes place around about the same time as all the stuff with Myriad in my main series....enjoy!
**********
VAVALLA
Persephone Savage's Underrealms Resort and Casino
On the waterworld Vavalla's equatorial belt floated a small round island with golden artificial beaches, a lush green rainforest and one towering white building which gleamed in the afternoon sun like a giant needle. This was the place to vacation for the United Planets' obscenely wealthy when Ventura was deemed too tacky and Kathoon too quaint.
Guests here had to go on a waiting list, their place in the queue determined by their social as well as financial capital. No Vavallan themselves had ever set foot on this island in any capacity other than to be employed here to serve the off-worlders who'd come to exploit their world's beauty for their own entertainment.
So when a morbidly obese green-skinned man dragged the remains of a security droid smothered in some kind of thick oozing slime right up out of the sparkling blue waters of Vavalla and on to the powdery sand which circled Persephone Savage's Underrealms Resort and Casino, the extremely wealthy guests sunning themselves on that beach were appalled.
"Sludge!" a man's voice called out from the ocean that the large man had just walked out of. "Come on buddy, don't do this! It's not worth it!"
"Don't tell me what to do, Turtle!" The man named Sludge spat out the rebreather he'd used to swim here. He dropped the security droid, turned on his heel and splattered the fit young Vavallan with the grotesque dark sludge which was his namesake. Turtle fell back into the sea knocked off-balance by the vile attack, and Sludge continued stomping toward the hotel. He growled menacingly at the closest couple of sunbathers, then chuckled at their frightened squeals. Two more security droids approached by air and Sludge bathed both of them in slime as well. One of them dropped like a lead balloon but the other still had enough control of itself to blast Sludge with a stun beam.
Impeded by the coating of slime on its metal hide as well as Sludge's immense size, the droid's weapon only fazed him slightly. Nonetheless, the large green man faltered.
"Don't worry, folks!" Everyone including Sludge now turned toward this new voice to see the familiar uniform of a Science Police officer emerging from the sea. With her oversized helmet obscuring most of her head, only the lower part of her face was visible and she was accompanied by four floating droids of her own. All of them were adorned quite clearly with the Science Police logo. The woman's face was green, though a much more vibrant green than Sludge's expanse of pea-green flesh. "I'm Officer Tayla Skott, the Science Police have things under control here!"
By law, the resort's security droids were all programmed to defer to Science Police. A quick scan confirmed Lamprey's identity, and with an obedient breep the droid which had shot Sludge took itself away for diagnostics and repairs. "Sludge! What do you think you're doing here? Where are the rest of your goons in the Legion of Substitute Villains?"
"I don't run with them no more!" Sludge jabbed a thumb into his chest for emphasis. "And that jerk Turtle has gone soft! This guy looks out for himself from now on!"
Turtle had recovered from Sludge's assault and appeared back on the beach behind Lamprey. "Buddy, it's not too late!" he pleaded. "We were no good as a team, you're not gonna do any better on your own! Sure, you might be tough enough to take on resort cops but Lamprey's a real cop!"
"He's right, Sludge!" Lamprey's hand moved cautiously toward her sidearm. "As soon as Turtle told me he turned down your invite to team up and rob this place blind, you were as good as in custody! Don't make it any harder on yourself than it has to be, this doesn't have to end violently!"
"I'm not scared of you!" Sludge retorted childishly. "Turtle told me all about you too, Officer Lamprey! And I know your power only works underwater!" He advanced on Lamprey, but before he could get close enough to use his own power Tayla whipped out her handgun and shot him right in the chest.
"Lucky for me I'm not just my power," Tayla huffed as she reholstered her weapon. Sludge toppled over backwards into the sand, his arms splayed out to both sides as if he'd just decided to nap there.
"Get those cuffs on him and get him into custody before he wakes up," Lamprey commanded the SP droids. While two of them extended a connecting plank beneath Sludge to lift him off the beach, the other two snapped power dampeners around both his wrists. A forcefield enclosed the hovering metallic stretcher, and as the robots shuffled Sludge off into the sea the crowd erupted into spontaneous applause and cheers.
"Come on, Bogdan." Lamprey raised her chin as she walked past Turtle and back toward the ocean. "I'm glad you told me what he was planning before things got out of hand...now let's leave these nice people to their vacations and get out of here." Turtle didn't turn, but instead stood staring silently at the white spire filling the sky before him. "Bogdan..?" Tayla repeated.
"I don't think I'm coming, gorgeous." The handsome youth's head drooped and he turned to face Lamprey. "I think...I think maybe today was a sign or something. There's stuff in my past I gotta face, and I can't risk you getting hurt while I do it."
Lamprey removed her helmet and approached him. She knew this was no doubt being plastered all over interplanetary social media thanks to their enrapt audience, but she didn't care. "There's no way you're this glum over the Legion of Substitute Villains," she reasoned. "This has got something to do with that time the Aquamarines came after you, hasn't it? When are you going to tell me what that was about, Turtle?"
"I...I'm sorry, gorgeous." Turtle lay a hand on her cheek. "I'm invulnerable, but you...you I have to protect. Don't try and find me, okay?"
He turned around and walked away, and Turtle realised he'd been wrong about something...
...his skin might be impervious, but Lamprey crying his name was like a dagger in his heart.
**********
EDITOR'S NOTES:
Persephone Savage is an original creation I used once over 10 years ago(!!)...she goes so far back in fact that it's before I started putting all of these stories in the one thread, but if you do want to read her only other appearance you can see that on my livejournal
If you're here I assume you're familiar with Turtle at least, but his introduction into my fanfic series was slightly different from what happened in the comics; he and Sludge (another repurposed character from the same Legion run that I stole Turtle from) were members of the Legion of Substitute Villains in my series, and yes that's as ridiculous as it sounds. Sludge's whole existence in my series is also a long way back, but you can read all two of his embarassing previous exploits here on my livejournal as well (oldest story is at the bottom)
This takes place around about the same time as all the stuff with Myriad in my main series....enjoy!
**********
VAVALLA
Persephone Savage's Underrealms Resort and Casino
On the waterworld Vavalla's equatorial belt floated a small round island with golden artificial beaches, a lush green rainforest and one towering white building which gleamed in the afternoon sun like a giant needle. This was the place to vacation for the United Planets' obscenely wealthy when Ventura was deemed too tacky and Kathoon too quaint.
Guests here had to go on a waiting list, their place in the queue determined by their social as well as financial capital. No Vavallan themselves had ever set foot on this island in any capacity other than to be employed here to serve the off-worlders who'd come to exploit their world's beauty for their own entertainment.
So when a morbidly obese green-skinned man dragged the remains of a security droid smothered in some kind of thick oozing slime right up out of the sparkling blue waters of Vavalla and on to the powdery sand which circled Persephone Savage's Underrealms Resort and Casino, the extremely wealthy guests sunning themselves on that beach were appalled.
"Sludge!" a man's voice called out from the ocean that the large man had just walked out of. "Come on buddy, don't do this! It's not worth it!"
"Don't tell me what to do, Turtle!" The man named Sludge spat out the rebreather he'd used to swim here. He dropped the security droid, turned on his heel and splattered the fit young Vavallan with the grotesque dark sludge which was his namesake. Turtle fell back into the sea knocked off-balance by the vile attack, and Sludge continued stomping toward the hotel. He growled menacingly at the closest couple of sunbathers, then chuckled at their frightened squeals. Two more security droids approached by air and Sludge bathed both of them in slime as well. One of them dropped like a lead balloon but the other still had enough control of itself to blast Sludge with a stun beam.
Impeded by the coating of slime on its metal hide as well as Sludge's immense size, the droid's weapon only fazed him slightly. Nonetheless, the large green man faltered.
"Don't worry, folks!" Everyone including Sludge now turned toward this new voice to see the familiar uniform of a Science Police officer emerging from the sea. With her oversized helmet obscuring most of her head, only the lower part of her face was visible and she was accompanied by four floating droids of her own. All of them were adorned quite clearly with the Science Police logo. The woman's face was green, though a much more vibrant green than Sludge's expanse of pea-green flesh. "I'm Officer Tayla Skott, the Science Police have things under control here!"
By law, the resort's security droids were all programmed to defer to Science Police. A quick scan confirmed Lamprey's identity, and with an obedient breep the droid which had shot Sludge took itself away for diagnostics and repairs. "Sludge! What do you think you're doing here? Where are the rest of your goons in the Legion of Substitute Villains?"
"I don't run with them no more!" Sludge jabbed a thumb into his chest for emphasis. "And that jerk Turtle has gone soft! This guy looks out for himself from now on!"
Turtle had recovered from Sludge's assault and appeared back on the beach behind Lamprey. "Buddy, it's not too late!" he pleaded. "We were no good as a team, you're not gonna do any better on your own! Sure, you might be tough enough to take on resort cops but Lamprey's a real cop!"
"He's right, Sludge!" Lamprey's hand moved cautiously toward her sidearm. "As soon as Turtle told me he turned down your invite to team up and rob this place blind, you were as good as in custody! Don't make it any harder on yourself than it has to be, this doesn't have to end violently!"
"I'm not scared of you!" Sludge retorted childishly. "Turtle told me all about you too, Officer Lamprey! And I know your power only works underwater!" He advanced on Lamprey, but before he could get close enough to use his own power Tayla whipped out her handgun and shot him right in the chest.
"Lucky for me I'm not just my power," Tayla huffed as she reholstered her weapon. Sludge toppled over backwards into the sand, his arms splayed out to both sides as if he'd just decided to nap there.
"Get those cuffs on him and get him into custody before he wakes up," Lamprey commanded the SP droids. While two of them extended a connecting plank beneath Sludge to lift him off the beach, the other two snapped power dampeners around both his wrists. A forcefield enclosed the hovering metallic stretcher, and as the robots shuffled Sludge off into the sea the crowd erupted into spontaneous applause and cheers.
"Come on, Bogdan." Lamprey raised her chin as she walked past Turtle and back toward the ocean. "I'm glad you told me what he was planning before things got out of hand...now let's leave these nice people to their vacations and get out of here." Turtle didn't turn, but instead stood staring silently at the white spire filling the sky before him. "Bogdan..?" Tayla repeated.
"I don't think I'm coming, gorgeous." The handsome youth's head drooped and he turned to face Lamprey. "I think...I think maybe today was a sign or something. There's stuff in my past I gotta face, and I can't risk you getting hurt while I do it."
Lamprey removed her helmet and approached him. She knew this was no doubt being plastered all over interplanetary social media thanks to their enrapt audience, but she didn't care. "There's no way you're this glum over the Legion of Substitute Villains," she reasoned. "This has got something to do with that time the Aquamarines came after you, hasn't it? When are you going to tell me what that was about, Turtle?"
"I...I'm sorry, gorgeous." Turtle lay a hand on her cheek. "I'm invulnerable, but you...you I have to protect. Don't try and find me, okay?"
He turned around and walked away, and Turtle realised he'd been wrong about something...
...his skin might be impervious, but Lamprey crying his name was like a dagger in his heart.
**********
EDITOR'S NOTES:
Persephone Savage is an original creation I used once over 10 years ago(!!)...she goes so far back in fact that it's before I started putting all of these stories in the one thread, but if you do want to read her only other appearance you can see that on my livejournal
If you're here I assume you're familiar with Turtle at least, but his introduction into my fanfic series was slightly different from what happened in the comics; he and Sludge (another repurposed character from the same Legion run that I stole Turtle from) were members of the Legion of Substitute Villains in my series, and yes that's as ridiculous as it sounds. Sludge's whole existence in my series is also a long way back, but you can read all two of his embarassing previous exploits here on my livejournal as well (oldest story is at the bottom)